Mortal Online

Earlier this week, we reported on one of the stranger interview setups we've seen in a while. A player of Mortal Online who goes by the handle Aralis was given the chance to interview Star Vault CEO Henrik Nystrom about the state of the game. There was just oooooone little itty-bitty catch: Aralis landed the interview only because he'd been the top donator to the game in January. In fact, he'd ponied up $1000.

The interview is fraught with a few other issues, such as the fact that Nystrom dodges some of the player's questions and smooths over others, which'd probably annoy me if I had just effectively spent $1000 for the privilege of emailing a few questions off to a dev I admired (but then again, I'm pretty used to getting my questions ignored for free). Readers also pointed out the weirdness of "donating" to an MMO in an era of free-to-play.

But let's stick to basics. What do you guys think? Would you pay any amount of money just to snag a sit-down with your favorite developer? How much, and what would you expect, exactly, in return?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

Each month, Mortal Online developer Star Vault rewards its top donation contributor with certain rewards for aiding development. In January, the top contributor was a player by the name of Aralis who was granted a custom "Champion of Nave" title showing that he donated $1,000 and was also given the opportunity to interview the development studio's CEO, Henrik Nystrom, in a one-on-one interview.

Some interesting points from the interview focus on future development, and Aralis pulls no punches when asking about a development timeline and the absence of promised content.

Check out the entire interview over at the Mortal Online forums, and let us know what you think about the Q&A.

In this Very Special Edition of Massively Speaking, Bree and Justin hold a wake for a certain superhero MMO that's passed into the night. We were there until the bitter end, my friends, except for Justin who valued sleep and didn't want to stay up until 3:00 in the morning. But he was there in spirit -- oh yes he was!

It's not all tears and booze, of course; we have plenty of other stories to talk about, including the return of a long-lost profession, an expansion launch, a free-to-play conversion, and why MMOs are now being held up as art.

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air!

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Read below the cut for the full show notes.

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The epic sandbox MMO Mortal Online has gone free-to-play today, allowing any interested player to have access to the entire game for the low, low price of zero!

The new business model allows for a free account as well as a Premier account status with a regular subscription rate as low as nine Euro a month (with discounts given to bulk time purchases and Facebook users). Premium status opens the skill levels to 100, while F2P players are restricted to 60. Premium accounts also allow thievery skills and expensive object looting and trading. Both free and Premium players have the option to expand the characters slots from one to four, but customers who bought the game before will be grandfathered in with three slots.

Be sure to check out all the details on the switchover over at the official forums, and enjoy the F2P trailer embedded after the cut.

[Thanks to all who sent this one in!]

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MMOs change at a breakneck pace, but you don't always have time to check back in and see what changes have taken place. Mortal Online has just recently released its second major expansion, and the community staffers want everyone to check in and see how the game has grown, so they're giving you the chance to do just that. Starting today you can hop into the game and experience all of the improvements in Awakening for free if you previously subscribed to Mortal Online.

If you've played in the past but haven't been following the game recently, you might have missed all of the features added by Awakening, including new AI mechanics and a variety of new combat abilities. The free play period will last for the next week, more than enough time to patch the client and take a look at the latest update to the game.

[Thanks to Chris for the tip!]

Awakening is the latest free expansion for Mortal Online, and it's available on the live servers today. What does that mean? It means that the game will benefit from a new GUI, a new AI system for NPCs, a new region, and a whole lot of new options for players to enjoy the game.

Some of the UI changes include an easier system for making use of workbenches, the addition of slash commands and macro functionality for abilities, and a new method for determining the direction of strikes in combat. Players will also have access to new combat skills, new out-of-combat skills, and a rebuilt taxation system.

The update also contains several bugfixes, but the patch notes warn players that the large update will be a bumpy ride at first. Players are asked to petition the customer support team only when absolutely necessary. But even with the likelihood of bugs, there's a lot for Mortal Online players to appreciate in this expansion.

[Thanks to Chris for the tip!]

A game company's CEO should always promote the company's games and be enthusiastic. There is such a thing as too much enthusiasm, however. Case in point: StarVault CEO Henrik Nystrom's comments during an IRC chat with fans. The chat was meant to cover the game's next major update, Awakening, but it included fan questions for future updates as well. It also included Nystrom telling a fan that he sees Mortal Online having roughly as many players as EVE Online in five years.

By way of elaboration, EVE Online currently has roughly 450,000 players. Mortal Online's subscription numbers have never been revealed, but estimates place it under 10,000 players.

An impossible goal? Definitely not, but certainly one that might be a bit overly ambitious. Fans of the game can still take a look at the chat for other interesting tidbits, however, including plans to add drugs and improve the new player experience in the future.

[Thanks to Sandboxer for the tip!]

Yesterday we told you about an adult MMO called Orgia Romanus that's causing a stir due to its focus on sexual content. While the game is certainly taking an over-the-top approach, it's by no means the first MMO to walk this path.

Indie titles like Sociolotron and portions of virtual worlds like Second Life are renowned for their focus on various taboo topics, while more traditional titles like Age of Conan and Mortal Online have dabbled in avatar nudity and adult-oriented quests.

But what if an MMO came along that managed to incorporate adult topics in a manner devoid of sensationalism? Sure, it's a tall order, but let's assume it's possible. Would you play it, or do you steer clear of anything with the "adult" label?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

If you've got an active Mortal Onlne account, you may want to think seriously about changing your password. A new post on the sandbox title's forum describes a security breach that led to the destruction of in-game assets and account status changes. The intrusion has since been contained, according to a Star Vault GM, and "additional security is in place."

The company says that customer payment information was not affected, but users are encouraged to verify their account status and passwords anyway.

As to the breach itself, details are understandably scarce, but Star Vault does say that a member of the GM staff had his account compromised and his details used to carry out the aforementioned mischief.

[Thanks to slapshot1188 for the tip!]

Fansite Sandboxer.org reports that it has discovered the release date of Mortal Online's upcoming expansion The Awakening in a Star Vault report to investors. We had to do some digging to find the original Swedish document Sandboxer was referring to, but we were able to confirm that the memo does contain the expansion's release month and further as-yet unannounced information.

The Awakening is slated for an April 2012 release, with May and June dedicated to magic and balance updates. The company expects to break even on a monthly basis between July and August of this year and sign a deal with publishers in August. Star Vault's plan is to have the game published in China between July and September and then release an as-yet unannounced expansion in October, with another in April next year.

I recently had the opportunity to fire off a few questions to Henrik Nystrom, and the Star Vault CEO was kind enough to provide some interesting insights into the firm's Mortal Online fantasy sandbox.

Though Mortal is thus far renowned for its full-loot PvP ruleset, it's also got a number of nifty features that you may be unaware of, with more on the way. Join me after the cut for a lengthy discussion of the new Awakening expansion as well as a glimpse into Nave's future.

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Mortal Online has already launched one expansion, but the game's second expansion in its two years of operation will soon join the first. Awakening has just been announced and is set to bring a variety of improvements to the game. The centerpiece is the introduction of Tindrem, the eponymous Tindremic capital and the home of the Emperor. The sprawling city encompasses several districts, but there's more to the city than the orderly facade it presents to travelers.

The expansion will provide more than simply a new city, however. It offers improved artificial intelligence and a better user interface to players, along with new dungeons in which players can test their skills against improved enemy intelligence. There's also a new set of special Trade Brokers in the cities, dyes for clothing and armor, and several other improvements that should be cheered by every Mortal Online player.

[Thanks to James for the tip!]

If you are perusing this column, chances are you are a fan of virtual worlds and the sandbox genre. Join the club! (Dues will be due on the third Tuesday.) The aspect that compels many aficionados to delve into a game is the ability to make an impact on the world in some small respect instead of making them into Hive Member 1593072 running a static, predetermined gauntlet. How that impact is accomplished, however, varies; there are multiple features that can facilitate it, and which ones are considered most important depends on the player.

With the loss of one of the best sandbox games just last month, some players may be feeling a void. Others still are looking/hoping for the "ultimate" sandbox that contains nearly every virtual world feature. Certainly, there are some upcoming games that make some drool-worthy promises, but what about playing something now? There are actually games out on the market that have at least one aspect of the genre, if not more.

To start off the new year, Some Assembly Required looks at some of the top features of virtual worlds and lists games that incorporate these features. While this list isn't exhaustive (considering the sheer number of games when you include all of the smaller free-to-play titles, I'd run out of column space!), it is a comprehensive enough overview to point you toward some games worth playing that perhaps you hadn't considered before.

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There's always that temptation in high school and college to simply copy someone else's work to get out of writing really boring papers. Still, no matter how great the temptation, it's good to abstain from such activities. While it's not only wrong, it can be extremely embarrassing if you're found out by the teacher and penalized for plagiarism.

We guess that someone over at Mortal Online really didn't want to work up an original terms of service (TOS) for the game, as a few sharp-eyed players noticed that the document not only was extremely similar to one in another MMO but failed to replace mentions of its source game. It appears as though Mortal Online took EVE Online's TOS and reworked it slightly -- and imperfectly -- for its own nefarious purposes, as you can see in the graphic above. The TOS has since been changed to eliminate the mention of EVE.

This recalls a similar misstep from last year, when Alganon was caught with its pants down after "borrowing" a press release from BioWare.

[Thanks to Jokkl for the tip!]